Control
by TheViolaBuddy
Summary: After the Underworld War, Arlon the Serene receives a rather unexpected visitor: the self-proclaimed sun god Pyrrhon, who is acting uncharacteristically depressed. (Kid Icarus: Uprising)


**Control**

Arlon the Serene sat on the moon, contemplating his Lunar Sanctum. Now that the whole Underworld War was over, he could find the time to rebuild it. Perhaps its laser defense mechanism was not entirely appropriate for a prison; after all, prisons were primarily intended to control those placed inside, not those who arrived from outside.

More importantly, only Arlon himself was able to produce the appropriate amounts of energy to power the lasers—or indeed, most of the Sanctum as a whole. As the incident with the angel Pit revealed, to have a single point of failure, even if this point was a god, could be disastrous.

So what would be the best design for such a structure? What improvements could he make?

In the midst of his musings, Arlon the Serene noticed a bright orange blaze out of the corner of his eye. Turning towards it, he saw a fire-enshrouded figure hurtling towards the moon. He raised an eyebrow at it, but did not attempt to interfere with its approach.

The fireball resolved into a familiar humanoid shape as it crashed on the lunar soil. It was Pyrrhon, the self-proclaimed sun god.

Arlon was one of the few who knew that this claim to the position was legitimate. Pyrrhon was the son of the old solar deity, Helios, just as Arlon was the son of Helios's sister, the old lunar goddess Selene. However, although most of the pantheon accepted Arlon as Selene's successor after her retirement, few believed his rather eccentric cousin's claim.

Arlon stood up and walked towards the dust cloud that had just formed. "Lord Pyrrhon," he said. "What a pleasure it is to see you again. I heard from Mistress Viridi that you experienced an unpleasant incident with the Aurum, and no one has heard from you since. Have you yet fully recovered?"

Pyrrhon, however, just lay on the ground. In a weak voice, he said, "I'm still really not cut out to be Dad's successor."

Arlon frowned. "Come, now. You do realize that lying facedown on the moon is far from appropriate for a solar deity, as you claim to be." He offered a hand towards the flaming god. "Please, Lord Pyrrhon, arise."

"I completely and utterly failed at controlling the Aurum," Pyrrhon muttered, weakly taking Arlon's hand. "No wonder no one believes I'm the sun god."

"You're acting highly unlike yourself," Arlon said.

Pyrrhon just sighed. "You remember the incident with me and the sun chariot when I was little, right?"

"Certainly," Arlon replied. When Pyrrhon was a child, Helios refused to let him drive the sun chariot, but there was a day when he took it under Helios's notice. However, he was unable to control the solar steeds, and ultimately crashed into the Earth.

Pyrrhon continued, "Dad was furious with me for a few years after that, but when he finally calmed down, told me that harnessing the sun's power is all about control and reliability. And so I tried to learn a little about masking my fears and insecurities." He suddenly stood straighter and flexed his muscles. "And thus, when Pyrrhon the Magnificent took on the job, he adopted an attitude that just _exudes_ control and power!"

"Are you aware that your attitude is seen as a sign of insanity, not a sign of power?"

Pyrrhon waved that comment away. "They're just jealous. Still, they're only jealous of my image. The actual me… well, obviously, I have no sense of control over anything. That's why I tried to merge with the Aurum Brain, to learn its ways of command. Or more accurately, to absorb its inherent sense of control. But instead, I was the one who ended up becoming just an extension of its will." Pyrrhon looked over at his cousin. "I sincerely hope that you never feel the horror of losing your own self, your own free will. Being trapped in your own body, watching yourself do things that you are unable to influence… It's not something that a god should feel. As the almighty beings that rule the Universe, the gods should not feel powerless."

Arlon frowned. "I shan't disagree with you, per se, but if you want my honest opinion, I don't believe you're thinking about godhood correctly."

Pyrrhon gave a quizzical look at his cousin. "Oh yeah? Go on."

"You're thinking like a mortal: the gods, you think, are infallible, perfect, reliable. Never changing, never losing control. But that's untrue. The three-way war, with the Underworld Army against Skyworld against the Forces of Nature, is proof of that. How many lives were lost in that conflict? Far too many, and it was the fault of all of us gods. Certainly, this war was not a perfect conclusion chosen by infallible beings."

"But that's different," Pyrrhon objected. "I can't even control the chariot that's the very symbol of the sun god. During the war, the gods at least had control over their own domains—the Underworld, life on Earth, and rational beings."

"Well, you were not present after the Aurum Invasion, but Palutena spent three years being mind controlled by the Chaos Kin that Young Master Pit released."

Pyrrhon raised his eyebrows. "Palutena? Really? But she seems so in control of herself."

"You're not the only one who hides insecurities behind a mask of control. When Young Master Pit was captured, she fell into despair, becoming reckless with her war against the Underworld Army. She was easily taken over by the Chaos Kin."

"The little angel has that much influence on her? Wow." Suddenly Pyrrhon hopped up into the air. "Wait—Pyrrhon has the greatest idea! Palutena manages to keep herself sane through a close relationship with the captain of her guard. So I just need to find a similar partner. And you know what? You and I would make an _awesome_ team. Sun and moon, the two bright orbs that light the Earth. We can work together to help me conquer my powers as the Sun God!"

Arlon blinked in surprise. "You would enlist my help?" Then, pausing for a moment, he continued, "Well, I would not refuse to help you. We are family, after all. Nonetheless, you must first remember that being a god is a learning experience; gods mature in their personalities and understanding of morality just as much as humans or other mortals. It is not expected that you would become completely in control of your powers instantaneously."

Pyrrhon blinked. "Pyrrhon is already perfectly capable, thank you very much! …Just not in important things."

Arlon sighed. "Frankly, I could learn much from you, as well. Your resilience is astounding. Furthermore, I am often criticized about being far too proper. If there is something everyone agrees about you, it is that you can enjoy yourself and have fun, whereas I am obsessed with propriety and formality. Our personality traits complement each other's; we can each learn from each other's style of living." Arlon the Serene extended a hand. "I accept your proposition."

In a blaze of fire, Arlon jumped up, yelling, "All right! Sun God Pyrrhon is back in business!" He took Arlon's hand. "I'll learn from you how to be a god, and you can learn from me… how to be super awesome in personality, or whatever it is you want. …Seriously, though, I truly appreciate it."

Finally, Arlon smiled. "As do I, Pyrrhon."

Pyrrhon did a backflip in the air. "All right, then Arlon! Today marks the day that the Sun God Pyrrhon is reborn, like a phoenix rising from the ashes! With that, I'm off!"

Arlon merely chuckled as Pyrrhon flew up towards the Earth. At least Pyrrhon was being his old, goofy self again.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note<em>: In the game, the domain that Arlon rules over is not made clear, but it seems that he's a sort of moon god. And as such, it was natural to pair him up in this fic with Pyrrhon, the (self-proclaimed) sun god.

As for Pyrrhon, when I was playing the game, I associated him immediately with the Greek demigod Phaethon, a sort of failed sun god - his backstory is what I gave here to Pyrrhon (basically, he crashed his father Helios's sun chariot into Earth, forming a giant desert). Helios and Selene, meanwhile, are the Greek sun and moon goddesses who were siblings. Helios obviously had Phaethon as a son; Selene had apparently a bunch of daughters, but none of them really match Arlon.

As a final aside, Pyrrhon and Arlon have the same voice actor (Troy Baker), despite their vastly different styles of speaking.

* * *

><p><em>Published September 3, 2014<em>


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